Page 18 of A Savior for the Arrogant Dragon

They retraced their steps, then she followed Mary Beth down another trail, arriving at the snug little cabin only a few minutes later. She felt a pang when she thought about her dinner with Simon the night before, but told herself again that she’d done the right thing; she didn’t want a fling, and they weren’t good for each other. Lost in her thoughts, she climbed up the stairs behind Mary Beth, barely noticing when she knocked on the door.

Max threw open the door a second later, “Thank you for coming so fast,” he said, then froze for a second. “Oh, Mary Beth, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I’m sorry to bother you. Kira and I were hoping you had a key to the community center. We went by there thinking we could kill some time, but it’s locked,” Mary Beth said, trying to look over Max’s shoulder. “But if this is a bad time, we can come back.”

Before he could answer, another man came walking up the porch steps behind them, “I’m here, Max,” the man said, a look of annoyance on his face. “What’s so important that I had to walk across the island in the rain?”

“Ummm……” Max looked at them, then at the man, his face full of uncertainty. “You’ll have to come inside to see.”

“Is he here yet?” she heard Simon call from inside. “I can’t stand this for a minute more. Tell him to hurry.”

She pushed her way past Mary Beth, “Is that Simon?” she asked. “Is there something wrong with him?”

Max looked a little panicked, “Well, no, not really,” he said. “I mean, he’s fine, we’re just having a little……trouble.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips. “Is Simon okay or not?”

There was a loud groan from inside the house, “Just let them in,” Simon said. “Maybe they’ll break the spell or something.”

“Spell?” the man standing next to her asked. “What’s this about a spell?”

Max let out a groan, “Fine, you can all come in, but you have to swear to never breathe a word about what you’ve seen,” he said. “I mean it, I want you all to swear.”

That got Mary Beth’s attention, “Max, are you in some kind of trouble?” she asked, pushing her way to the door. “Tell me right now, what’s going on, this is all…… I don’t know, suspicious.”

“You’re telling me,” Max said, moving aside. “But I’m warning you right now, you’re not going to believe what you’re about to see.”

“Max, all this mystery is making me nervous,” Mary Beth said, walking inside. “You’d better explain what’s going on and fast.”

She followed Mary Beth inside, bracing herself for something, although she wasn’t sure what, butthe cabin looked perfectly normal. There was nothing out of place. There was a man sitting at the table in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in front of him, but that didn’t seem unusual until the feeling that she’d seen him before slowly began to creep over her. Assuming he was someone she’d met on the island, she studied him for a second, trying to place him, but came up empty.

Then the man looked up, their eyes met across the room and desire blossomed from deep inside her, spread through her body making it begin to hum, and she stumbled back a couple of steps. Confused, she could only stare at the man, taking in his blonde hair, the baggy clothes, and the rumpled hair, wondering what was wrong with her as her body continued to respond to him.

When he got to his feet and took a couple of steps toward her, she couldn’t move, was frozen in place by the look of anger in his eyes. “This is all your fault,” he said, the voice so familiar it didn’t take her long to place it. “If it hadn’t been for you, I would have been perfectly happy living my life the way I was.”

Her head began to feel fuzzy, and she reached out to steady herself on Mary Beth’s arm, “Simon,” she finally squeaked. “Is that you?”

“In the flesh,” he said, throwing out his arms. “What do you think of the new me? Quite the change, isn’t it? Now you won’t have to worry about my good looks, and my father took away all my money, so I’m not rich anymore. I guess that levels the playing field, doesn’t it, sweetheart.”

She could only stare at him, thinking she must be dreaming, but then he walked over to her and put his face right in hers. “What’s the matter?” he sneered at her. “You got your wish. You should be happy.”

Her knees began to buckle, and she grabbed Mary Beth’s arm, shaking her head, “It can’t be……” she managed to say before the world went dark.

CHAPTER 11

***SIMON***

Simon’s anger lasted until Kira collapsed to the floor, then quickly evaporated, leaving him feeling like a child having a temper tantrum. “Dammit, what the hell is wrong with me,” he said, rushing over to her, sinking down on the floor and pulling her inert body into his arms. “I’m sorry Kira, I didn’t mean to scare you, I was just angry. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Her eyes fluttered open, then filled with confusion again, “Kira, it’s me, Simon,” he said, his voice gentle. “I wish I could explain what happened to me, but I don’t even know. I looked like this when I looked in the mirror this morning.”

Kira sat up, then scooted out of his arms, “How is this possible?” she asked. “I don’t understand.”

“We don’t either,” Max said, scooping Kira up off the floor and plopping her onto the couch. “We’re hoping Mateo can help us with some of the answers.”

“This has to be some kind of a trick,” Mary Beth said. “You’ve got hidden microphones around here or something, I don’t think this is very funny.”

“It’s not a trick, it’s real,” he said, getting up off the floor,wishing there was some way he could make the look in Kira’s eyes go away. “This is what I looked like this morning, I don’t know how, and I don’t know why.”

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